Do woman face more difficulties than men in Western society? Are woman's lives harder then men's lives (generally speaking)? I say no but welcome someone to prove me wrong. This does not need to be a proper debate, we can be casual but there are some basic rules.

Rules
1. No name calling
2. No sexist, racist, or homophobic remarks (obviously we are discussing gender roles, so by sexism I mean discrimination based on sex. example- Men are too stupid to be doctors. An example of not being sexist would be- Men are less likely to be doctors based on ________)
3. Let's try to be civil
4. Let's try to keep it as factual as possible
5. If data/stats are posted the sources must be posted as well

Thank you to Con for offering this debate. I will be taking the Pro position. Even though there have been many advancements for women in Western society, they still face many more challenges and obstacles to succeeding in life than men do. I will argue that Western women must put up with and overcome more difficulties to achieve the same goals as men.

I will allow Con to make the opening arguments first. This looks to be a very timely and relevant discussion - I'm looking forward to it.

Thank you for taking me up on my challenge, I look forward to having a civil debate friend.

My argument is not that woman have easier lives then men- I want to be clear on that from the start. I do not want to demean the challenges faced by females, but instead shed light on the fact that males live equally difficult lives, thought for different reasons. There are 2 primary categories of challenges men face, and both deal with discrimination on an institutional level. The first being legal, the second societal.

Let's start with legal- and let's start by crunching some numbers
1. In 83% of divorce cases woman gain primary custody.
2. Men face 63% longer jail sentences than woman for the same crime.
3. Woman are 2X more likely to be released with no prison time then men
4. Woman half to pay less child support, and are more likely to not pay their child support.
5. Woman are 9x as likely to be found innocent of spouse murder according to the Bureau of justice statistics

This paints a clear, and sad picture. There is a clear pattern of discrimination here against men. The statistics speak for themselves

Now let's crunch some societal numbers
1. Men are 3.5x more likely to commit suicide then woman
2. Woman now control more than half of the nations wealth
3. Men are 4 times more likely to be murdered than woman
4. Men make up 95% for workplace fatalities
5. To counter the claim (and I could add more but won't) of woman making less I will show that in the PDF below from the US Census men work 57% of the hours in the US
6. Men fight wars- although woman can fight wars now, in Vietnam 72 woman were killed, and almost 50,000 men were killed.
7. Although the STEM field is dominated by men (not due to discrimination) woman are more likely to be hired 2:1

The basic thing here is this- woman and men face equal and unique challenges. This myth exists that only woman face discrimination in Western Society and that men live these privileged, easy going lives. The truth is that men live difficult lives and that the myth of woman facing more issues than men is harmful to both sexes.

Thanks again to Con for allowing me to participate in this debate. Con is arguing that women in Western societies do not face significantly more challenges then men. I disagree – even in today’s modern society, women still face more difficulties than men. The Center for American Progress found that while a majority of men in the US feel that the “country has made most of the changes needed to give women equal rights as men,” only 29 percent of American women felt the same [1]. That alone should demonstrate that not enough progress has been made regarding the discrimination of women. There are many reasons why most women feel they face more challenges then men in Western society, but I will focus on four specific areas – harassment, workplace discrimination, sexual assault, and reproductive rights.

Women endure daily harassment on a level that most men can’t even comprehend. Things like leering, cat-calling, sexually explicit comments, or inappropriate touching are endured on a regular basis by many women, causing embarrassment, intimidation, and fear. In a 2014 study, 65% of American women reported being street harassed, compared to 25% of men. 57% of women had been verbally assaulted (only 18% of men), and 41% of women had been physically harassed (only 16% of men) [2]. Just going to work without being harassed is generally more difficult for women than men, but the challenges don’t end once a woman gets to work. Sexual harassment is an all-too common occurrence in the workplace, and women are disproportionately the victim – about 79% of workplace sexual harassment is against women [4]. The daily harassment that women must contend with is so much greater than what men deal with – this has been a persistent issue for women, even in Western societies like the US.

Harassment is just one major challenge that women in the workplace must contend with, more so than men. Another is discrimination. The most obvious example of this is the disparity in pay between men and women in Western societies. In 2015, women in the US were paid on average 80 percent of what men were paid, with women of color even worse off than white women [5]. The pay gap can be seen at the beginning of a woman’s career (men out of college in the same majors and jobs make more than their female counterparts) and even as she advances in her career, when the pay gap widens [1]. Even the highest paid female executives are paid 18% less than their male counterparts [6]. The gender pay gap is a clear barrier to financial equality with men.

Why do men make more than women in general? Some might argue that men work more hours, and this is true – the majority of American workers logging more than 35 hours a week are men [7]. But this is simply the result of yet another challenge that women deal with more than men – child care. Childless women generally make as much as men, but things change after childbirth. Women who give birth are more likely to be the primary caretaker for the child and will not be able to commit to longer work hours. In a 2015 study, American women with children under 6 years spend an average of an hour a day providing physical care, compared to 25 minutes spent by men [8]. Men earn more overtime hours, leading to more pay and promotions [9], while women who give birth while working are more likely to switch to part-time work or leave the workforce entirely [7]. In this context, raising children is unpaid work that is more likely to be done by women than men. For doing this important work, women must deal with the reality of earning less than men. An exacerbating factor is the lack of paid family or maternity leave in the United States, which ranks dead last among developed countries in this area [10]. All of these elements contribute to the gender pay gap between men and women in the US.

Sexual assault in the United States has become an epidemic – an American is sexually assaulted every two minutes. One in six women has been a victim of rape, compared to one in 33 men. 82% of all juvenile rape victims and 90% of all adult rape victims are women [11]. I think it’s pretty safe to say that women endure the vast majority of the sexual violence in the US. In addition to the issue of frequent sexual harassment, it is clear that women face tremendous challenges avoiding the threat of violence.

Reproductive rights are generally an incidental issue for men, but for women they are of critical importance. And yet, Western societies like the U.S. impose burdens on women’s reproductive choices that are not imposed on men. For example, until recently, employee-based healthcare plans were not mandated to cover contraception (while making provisions to cover drugs for erectile dysfunction, like Viagra); a 2014 Supreme Court decision currently allows religious employers to exclude contraception from their health insurance. If you are a woman working for one of those employers, you would have to pay out of pocket for birth control while a male co-worker could get a Viagra prescription through insurance [12]. And despite Roe v. Wade, access to safe abortions has been drastically reduced in recent years. 19 states prohibit late-term abortions, 43 states prohibit abortions beyond the point of “fetal viability,” 38 states require parental consent, 17 states require women to be given counseling, 28 states mandate waiting periods, and 11 restrict coverage of abortions in private insurance plans [13]. There are no such restrictions in Western society on a man’s reproductive decisions, but women do not enjoy such freedom over their own bodies. The discrimination women face in exercising their reproductive rights is yet another issue of a challenge that is not experienced by men in Western society.

I’ve just laid out several serious and pervasive challenges faced by women that men rarely, if ever, encounter. The problems of harassment, workplace discrimination, sexual assault, and limited access to reproductive rights reflect the immensity of the daily issues women in the West face, more than men in general. There has been much progress but much more needs to be done before men and women are truly treated with equal dignity and respect.

My pleasure Pro, it has been a great experience to debate such a triggering topic in a mature and factual manner. Typically such discussion turn into screaming matches and devolve into nonsense.

My first point: a forward really is in response to your initial 29% stat. A sad truth is that feelings are not factual they are subjective. When organizations state long and loud that a group of people is oppressed, many begin to believe it, especially members of that group. Regardless of the truth.

I am going to start with a short story. When I graduated college I went up to Massachusetts to further my education. I was up there alone with few friends for a long time. Studies kept me more than busy enough and needless to say I did not have the time to go out and make friends. One night I was too stressed out for my own good so I went to a local dive bar to get raging drunk. Sitting at this bar alone I noticed than down the row of bar stools was the most beautiful woman I'd seen. So I made my advances, and right now this woman I met alone in that bar is my wife, and the mother of my children.

That is why woman get hit on. We, are animals, and we seek mates to reproduce and start families. Now if my wife hadn't been attracted to me that night it would have been sexual harassment, even though sex never came up. The only reason it wasn't sexual harassment was that she was attracted to me on some level. This just brings us to another challenge faced by men. You see men are not sexually harassed much because woman typically (and this is all just a generalization, not a rule) do not purse men, instead men purse woman. Many woman may not totally understand this but it is really difficult being a male in this situation. We find a potential mate and initiate the age old ritual of sparking up conversation. Now if rejected that means you, as a person, was not good enough. It is a massive blow to ones self esteem. In this modern age though getting rejected could lead to sexual harassment charges filed against you. So on top of being rejected and essentially told you are not good enough, you are also now a sex offender for engaging in a process that has existed throughout the course of human history. On a side note if this trend continuous we are going to see a total segregation of the sexes, but I digress.

On to the pay gap. Ye old pay gap argument. I am going to do a list style from here on out
1. The statement "woman make 80 cents on the dollar compared to men" IS true
2. However this stat does not mean "If Jack and Jill have the same job, same hours, same experience Jill will make 20% less than him". Instead this stat just takes the average salary of all men, the average salary of all woman and compares them.
3. When you examine the highest paying fields in the US, men dominate 9 of the top 10.
4. Woman dominate subjects as well like social sciences, journalism, and many others- yet theses fields are towards the top of the lowest paying fields.
5. It's not as though this is discrimination, in fact woman are 2:1 more likely to be hired in STEM fields then men.
6. It's also not discrimination from an education standpoint and woman are taken into college with lower SAT/ACT scores than men and are 33% more likely to graduate.
7. An argument could be made than fields dominated by woman pay less simply because they are dominated by woman but it is not true. A person in a given field is only paid what they are worth, and what the field is worth.
8. Woman ages 20-30 now out earn men 1.02 to 1.00 in the UK. This is because woman have taken an interest in engineering, medicine, technology, law, business administration, STEM, and other well paying fields.
9. Men do work more overtime than woman. This is not discrimination this is men wanting to work overtime more than woman do.
10. The massive study by the neutral 3rd party CONSAD found that the pay gap is not due to any form of discrimination. I quote: "This study leads to the unambiguous conclusion that the differences in the compensation of men and woman are the result of a multitude of factors and that the raw wage gap should not be used as the basis to justify corrective action. Indeed, there may be nothing to correct. The differences in raw wages may be almost entirely the result of the indivudal choices being made by both male and female workers."

Ok now children. These stats are true, but no one is forcing woman to give up work and raise a child. That is a woman's choice. And in 82% of divorce cases woman keep the children. No one is forcing any of this, these are choices made my woman and families- plain and simple. In addition many woman will claim up and down that the greatest joy of their life was raising children. Therefore I fail to see this as that much of an issue. Is it a challenge to raise children? Yes, of course. Is it a challenge to provide for your family if your wife works part time or not at all? Yes it is.

Rape and sexual assault is a terrible crime. The only other crime that even compares in murder.
I said at the start I do not want to demean the challenges faced by woman because woamn do face challenges. My argument is not that men's lives are more difficult than woman's. My argument is that both men and woman face unique but equal challenges.
I cannot say rape does not exist because it does. I won't spit on rape victims and start quoting false rape statistics.
Instead I will simply say that woman are more likely to be raped, and men are more likely to be murdered. These are unique but equal challenges.

Reproductive rights: Viagra is a pill to treat erectile dysfunction which is a disorder. Birth control does not treat disorders and it a contraceptive. These are two totally different pills in totally different categories and cannot be compared. One treats a disorder, one stops babies from happening. Come on now....
The christian right is way outside of this debate and I'd bet me and you would agree on a lot about them. Either way I won't get into it. America was founded on the rights of religious freedom. To force religious organizations to cover contraceptives is forcing them to do something against their religion. That does not fly in America. But there are many many ways to get cheap or free contraceptives and see doctors as a female. Planned Parenthood, Teen Clinics, and the like exists to solely cater to woman's needs. Organizations such as this do not exist for men.

Another point to make here, men's healthcare is horribly underfunded. Men have a shorter life expectancy than woman yet in 2012 883 million dollars went to funding for female healthcare, when only 200 million went to male healthcare. This is not a challenge faced in day to day life- no this is someone loosing years of their life. Since this myth persists that men are over privileged nothing is being done to close this disparity. No additional funding is being added and of all the discrimination mentioned above, nothing will be done. Because if a man says he is being discriminated against he is called a sexist and told to shut up.

P.S: Round 4 is approaching, I never mentioned anything in rules so I wanted to ask you if you wanted to use round 4 to present arguments or if you would prefer to do closing statements. Your call either way!

I’d like to address some of the points and statistics Con brought up in his arguments from Round 2. First, regarding child custody in divorce cases – it is true that women receive custody in the majority of cases, but the reasons for this have nothing to do with discrimination against men. Custody decisions should be based on the best interests for the child or children, and that usually involves the parent who is closer and more involved with the children. A 2011 study found that a married father spends an average of 6.5 hours a week doing primary child care activities with his children, compared to on average of 12.9 hours for a married woman. And after a divorce, men are less likely to visit a separated child more than once a week than a woman [1]. This indicates that the increased likelihood of a woman receiving custody is in the children’s best interest. The case for discrimination against men is weakened by the fact that only 4 percent of child custody cases are actually decided by courts. In 51 percent of custody cases, both parents mutually agreed to have the mother be the custodial parent, often without any third party intervention [2].

And regarding child support, mothers who are owed child support outnumber dads almost 9 to 1. Furthermore, fathers who get custody of children are better off financially than mothers who get custody. Custodial fathers who don’t get child support earn an average of $51,791, almost $10,000 more than similar fathers who do. Compare that to custodial mothers who don’t get child support – they only make an average $26,231, over $4,000 less than similar mothers who do. Add to that the facts that custodial mothers are more likely to have two or more children living with them and custodial dads are more likely to receive non-cash support from the other parent, and we can see that it is women, not men, who face more challenges in raising children after divorce [3].

I will concede that there is a possibility of a punitive bias against men in the criminal justice system, but it is an undeniable fact that men commit an overwhelming majority of violent crimes in the US [4]. And while men are more likely to be murdered, women are more likely to be victims of domestic and sexual homicides [5].

Con told a nice story about how he met his wife, but having a conversation in a bar is much different from the type of sexual harassment in the statistics I used. I’m talking about unwanted interactions in public spaces. Con himself admitted that if his wife was not attracted to him his advances might be perceived as sexual harassment, and rightfully so. It is not an unfair “challenge” to have to refrain from making romantic or sexual advances on someone who does not want it. I don’t think the pain of rejection is anything to compare to the fear of being molested or raped, which, as I showed, is something women endure far more often than men.

Regarding the pay gap, there is nothing wrong with using national averages in salaries – this is the most objective method to analyze test whether Western women, on the whole, are underpaid.

The 2:1 ratio does not hold true in all STEM fields; women are still woefully underrepresented in computer science and engineering [6]

Pro says that “A person in a given field is only paid what they are worth, and what the field is worth,” but this is not necessarily true. Research has shown that women frequently undervalue themselves and the work they do, making them less likely to demand higher salaries [6]. This could be a result of the many centuries of pre-feminist societal conditioning that used to place women on a lower level than men. Whatever the reason, the pay gap is not simply a matter of meritocracy, but more likely that men are more confident in demanding more pay.

The link that Pro labeled as “CONSAD report” doesn’t link to the actual report but instead links to a blog post from the US Department of Labor that contains this quote: “Decades of research shows a gender gap in pay even after factors like the kind of work performed and qualifications (education and experience) are taken into account. These studies consistently conclude that discrimination is the best explanation of the remaining difference in pay.” I’m not sure why Pro would include a link that refutes his argument, but I will allow him to direct me to the actual quote he used from the CONSAD report – it’s quite possible I missed it.

It is true that some working women make the choice to have children, but this isn’t like choosing a piece of clothing to wear. Raising children is a serious and noble effort for which women shouldn’t be financially punished. Yet, as I showed earlier, the US lags behind other countries in compensating women for time missed due to maternity leave and childcare. Raising children (for women) and working longer hours (for men) are both challenges, but only one of those activities results in financial compensation. I don’t think that work is objectively harder than raising children, so this is indeed a financial disadvantage that many working women with children must face.

The comparison between Viagra and birth control is a valid one because they both involve reproductive freedom – the male’s ability to have sex and the female’s ability to have (or not have) children. If anything is not comparable it is the social inconvenience of erectile dysfunction versus the life-altering and potentially harmful effects of pregnancy. Yes, ED is a medical disorder, but I don’t think anyone has ever had to quit their job or leave a career because of ED, unlike pregnancy. And while there is religious freedom in the US, imposing one’s religious beliefs on employees can be quite burdensome and discriminatory, especially for female employees needing birth control. The Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision and the rise of restrictive abortion laws have greatly reduced access to contraception for women, as I mentioned earlier. No such legal decisions restrict men’s reproductive freedom.

It is true that women receive more funding for health care than men, but this can be mostly attributed to the fact that women are more likely to seek medical attention than men - not because of any discrimination against men. A more serious issue is that women are less like than men to receive health insurance through their own job [7].

I didn’t have time to address all of Con’s points, but perhaps we can use the final round to both wrap up our rebuttals and give closing arguments.

The 2:1 ration: This statistic is a generalization, and is correct. some stem fields hold more than a 2:1 advantage, and others hold less than 2:1. Woman are unrepresented in STEM fields as a whole. This stat does not claim woman outnumber men in STEM fields but that woman are 2:1 more likely to be hired in STEM fields. There is nothing holding woman back from working in the STEM fields. They have the right, the ability, and the availablity to do so. The issue is that woman are not wanting to go into STEM fields (generally) and forcing them to do so IS SEXISM.

"Research has shown that women frequently undervalue themselves and the work they do, making them less likely to demand higher salaries ". This sounds like a personal issue. Having the confidence to ask for higher pay is not the fault of anyone but yourself. No one says "woman are less then men" and society doesn't claim that either. Woman are generally more self reflective than men are but still, this is not discrimination this is a self imposed issue. In addition I stand by my argument- a social science degree, or a degree in gender studies do little to improve the economy. There is not an economic demand for gender studies majors and thus they are paid less. Capitalism does not care what gender you are, what race you are, or what god you pray too, or what passions you have- it cares about your ability to make money for a company. Arbitrarily paying woman more for degrees with little economic value is insane.

I also stand by my statement in regards to birth control. I am sorry but birth control is a contraceptive, and Viagra is a pill used to treat a disorder. You have to have a physical disorder to get Viagra, this is not the case with birth control. Also I will again state that there are a multitude of resources that only woman can utilize to get free or discounted contraceptives. In addition companies have the freedom to chose the type of insurance they offer as a benefit. If that insurance does not include birth control that is their right. One does not need birth control to function sexually or in day to day life. One does need Viagra to do so. Companies do not have to provide contraceptives to woman. It is also highly inaccurate to classify this under reproductive rights. Woman who work for a company that does not provide birth control still have readily available access to birth control and other contraceptives. No one is forcing them not to take birth control, instead their employer is simply exercising their right to not have to pay for a pill that does not treat a medical condition.

Pro referring to my story proves my point. When I started talking to my future wife that night in the bar I made no sexual advances, I simply engaged her in conversation, and complimented her a couple times. To many people (mostly 3rd wave feminists) what I did was sexual harassment. I have even heard that men need consent to say hello to a female. I did nothing wrong that night in that bar. I said nothing inappropriate but yet some would consider it sexual harassment and that's my point. The lines have been blurred with things like "switch rape" and the definition of sexual harassment is so vague and includes so much that almost any conversation between two member of the opposing sex could be sexual harassment.

Pay gap: The statistic is fine- I am not arguing that it is a legit stat. I am arguing that it proves nothing. It does not prove discrimination in anyway. There are a multitude of factors that influence this all of which I have mentioned earlier. Career choice, personal choices, negotiation, hours worked, and many more factors contribute to this stat. And as stated earlier woman now out earn men in to 20-30 age range. This pay gap is due to choices made by woman. It is a self imposed challenge which negates it's placement as a true challenge being that it is easy to overcome.

Rape: In 2008 it was reported that around 213,000 men were sexually assaulted in jail. Almost none of these assaults have resulted in trails. According to the FBI 92,000 woman were raped in 2011. While in society woman are more likely to be raped, as a whole men are more likely to be raped than woman. So not only are men more likely to be murdered, we are more likely to be sexually assaulted. Some rape statistics for woman go as high as 1 in 4 but these statistics come from very flawed studies. When looking at academic studies the number is actually more like 0.4 out of 1000. And again the definition of rape is no linger holding someone down and forcing them. It can appear consensual at the moment but later be declared rape due to alcohol. Switch rape also proves this point.

In closing: Woman and men both face challenges in society. Organizations such as 3rd wave feminism will have you believe that discrimination is a one sided affair. That only woman face such challenges and that men are privileged. Terms are used like "toxic masculinity" and these terms demean the challenges faced by men and also place the blame for social issues unfairly on men. Men face challenges everyday the same as woman yet we are not allowed to speak of it. We are not able to shed light on issues faced by men because doing so may be considered sexist, because doing so demeans the issues faced by woman. This is unfair and yet another challenge men face.

My opponent has failed to provide much, if any evidence of systemic sexism or discrimination. The only thing provided is disparities that are not due to any form of sexism but rather due to choices woman willingly make. Men on the other hand face legal discrimination, health discrimination, we live shorter lives, we are in more and more day to day danger, we are allowed less rights with our children, we control less of that nations wealth, and that is naming a few. I think it is clear that men do face as many challenges than woman if not more.

I want to thank my opponent for a terrific debate, I had a lot of fun. I look forward to your response.

Again I’d like to thank Con for this lively debate. This has been a fun exercise.

I’ll give a few final rebuttals before my closing argument. Con pointed out that men are murdered far more often than women; later, Con criticized my conclusions about the pay gap, claiming that the differences in salary between men and women are due primarily to choices that women make, namely raising children, which “is a self imposed challenge which negates it's placement as a true challenge being that it is easy to overcome.” I find it curious that Con has not applied this standard to the statistic about men and murder; it is undeniable that men are more inclined to violent and dangerous behavior [1], which puts men at greater risk of being killed by violence. If choosing to raise children negates the “challenge” of the gender pay gap, then choosing to engage in violent behavior [2] (i.e. join a gang, commit terrorism, etc.) should negate the “challenge” of the increased murder rate among men. In any case, the topic of this debate was whether Western women face more challenges than men. A woman making less money than a man, in general, is indeed a challenge in a capitalist society, regardless of whether it’s because of a personal choice or discrimination. Round Three is no place for Con to suddenly redefine the term “challenge.”

Con says “[a]rbitrarily paying woman more for degrees with little economic value is insane,” but I have not argued this, nor is it the case. As, I said in my earlier remarks, women out of college with the same degrees as men earn less than their male counterparts, and even female executives make less than male executives. There are minor subcategories where the opposite is true, but this is not represented in the overall trends for Western women, which is what this debate is about.

Con says “You have to have a physical disorder to get Viagra,” but we aren’t talking about multiple sclerosis, we’re talking about a condition that impedes a man’s ability to have sex and/or procreate, which is related to reproductive rights, but also to sexual freedom – and many private employers’ health insurance will cover this. And yet, a woman who wants to enjoy the same sexual freedom a man does, without getting pregnant – a condition far more difficult than erectile dysfunction – must pay out of her own pocket if her religious employer refuses to cover birth control. And it is not true that these women will have “readily available access to birth control and other contraceptives” – I already showed how restrictive anti-abortion laws across the country have made it more difficult for women to get the contraceptives they need (not to mention many women’s clinics like Planned Parenthood are being forced to close). I think the double standard in how society views sexual activity for men and women is pretty obvious here.

Con stated that men “are more likely to be sexually assaulted” – this is a misrepresentation of the facts. Men are more likely to be sexually assaulted in prison, which makes sense if you consider that men make up 93% of the prison population [3] and 99% of the perpetrators in all rape convictions, according to Con’s sources. Even taking prison rape into the equation, the rate of rape among men overall is still lower than the rate of rape among women [4]. Con says the statistics that report rape among women at around 20% are based on “very flawed studies” but has not demonstrated this, nor given us a reason to think they should be discounted.

Con believes that the “definition of sexual harassment is so vague and includes so much that almost any conversation between two member of the opposing sex could be sexual harassment” - but without any statistics or facts, we can dismiss this as nothing more than conjecture. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission states that “[h]arassment can include ‘sexual harassment’ or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature” [5]. I don’t see how this definition includes “any conversation between two member[s] of the opposing sex,” unless most of Con’s conversations with women include requests for sexual favors. And the only reference I could find for “switch rape” is a single blog on the Internet – Con has not demonstrated that this is a widespread phenomenon that “proves” anything. Even going by the generous estimates of 8 percent for false rape accusations [6], that still means that about 92% of rape accusations are found to be true – hardly evidence of some conspiracy against men. Men are not overly burdened by false rape or sexual assault accusations – it is women who are overwhelming the victims of actual sexual assault, as my statistics have showed.

In closing, I must draw attention to the straw man my opponent has set up. Con has made many criticisms about 3rd wave feminism (which is not an organization), saying that men are told to “shut up,” and argued against the myth that men live “privileged, easy going lives.” I’ve made none of those arguments here and Con has not demonstrated that these things are widespread or legally enforced. Men do face unique challenges – I’m a man myself, so I know – but issues like dealing with rejection by a woman are much less compared to what women go through. Women are paid less than men – often for doing the same jobs or having the same educational background. Women’s reproductive and sexual freedom are limited in ways that men do not experience. Women must endure harassment of all kinds – street harassment, workplace harassment, etc. – at much higher rates than men. Women are also sexually assaulted at much higher rates than men. This paints a picture of a society where women must overcome more and greater challenges and difficulties than men in general. Addressing those issues and taking them seriously should not be viewed as some form of reverse discrimination against men, but as a worthy and vital endeavor to create a more fair and equal society.

Yes that right. I am not going to try and prove man have it more difficult as an inherent truth, I am refuting the opposite. And yes if a reader comes to that conclusion it is a huge win because it has increased awareness for issues faced by men and decreased the idea that only woman face real challenges due to sex.

To clarify, you aren't actively arguing that women have it easier in Western society than men do? So if a reader comes away with the impression that there is no noticeable difference in the challenges that different sexes face, that is a win for your position?